56G.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Authority shall, as soon as practicable after the coming into operation of this section, establish an Appeals Board and shall appoint 3 people to the Appeals Board with a special interest or expertise in, or knowledge of, the functions referred to in section 34(1) (de) (inserted by section 30 of the Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Act 2014).

(2) The Authority shall not appoint a member of the Authority, the Chief Executive, a member of the staff of the Authority or a member of the Accreditation Board to be a member of the Appeals Board.

(3) A member of the Appeals Board shall hold office for such period, not exceeding 5 years from the date of his or her appointment, as the Authority determines.

(4) The Authority shall appoint a chairperson of the Appeals Board from among the members of the Board and that chairperson shall regulate the procedure of the Board.

(5) Subject to paragraph (6), a member of the Appeals Board whose term of membership of the Appeals Board expires shall be eligible for reappointment as a member of the Appeals Board.

(6) A person who is reappointed to the Appeals Board shall not hold office for periods the aggregate of which exceeds 10 years.

(7) A member of the Appeals Board, including the chairperson, is entitled to be paid such remuneration, fees or allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determines.

(8) A member of the Appeals Board may at any time resign from office by giving notice in writing to the Authority of his or her resignation and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the Authority receives the notice.

(9) The Authority may at any time remove from office a member of the Appeals Board if, in the opinion of the Authority—

(a) the member has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing his or her functions,

(b) the member has committed stated misbehaviour, or

(c) the removal of the member appears to the Authority to be necessary for the effective performance by the Appeals Board of its functions.

(10) A member of the Appeals Board shall cease to be qualified for office and shall cease to hold office if he or she—

(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment,

(d) is convicted of any indictable offence,

(e) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,

(f) is disqualified or restricted from being a director of any company within the meaning of the Companies Acts, or

(g) is removed from office under subsection (9).

(11) If a member of the Appeals Board dies, resigns, ceases to be qualified for office and ceases to hold office or is removed from office, the Authority may appoint a person to be a member of the Appeals Board to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned.

(12) A person appointed to be a member of the Appeals Board under subsection (11) —

(a) holds office for so much of the term of office of the member who occasioned the casual vacancy concerned as remains unexpired at the date of his or her appointment,

(b) is eligible for reappointment as a member of the Appeals Board on the expiry of that period, and

(c) shall, for the purposes of the period referred to in subsection (6), be taken to have been appointed on the date of that person’s appointment to fill the casual vacancy concerned.

(13) The Appeals Board shall be independent in the performance of its functions.]